May Day is celebrated on May 1st in many countries as a festival of labor, but originally it was a festival of new life and warmer weather celebrated by ancient cultures. During the Middle Ages, May Day was one of the most important days of the year where people would go "maying" by collecting flowers and decorating their homes with branches before games, singing, dancing, and dancing around the Maypole while choosing a May Queen. Some traditions like Maypole dances and Morris dancing continue on May Day in Great Britain today to symbolize the sun's rays and wake up the earth after winter.

1. May Day
We celebrate the comming of summer on the first the of
May. In many countries 1 May is now a festival celebrating
labour, but originally this day was a festival to celebrate new
life and welcome the warmer weather.
Many ancient cultures had festival at this time of the year.
The Celts celebrate the beginning of summer on the night
before 1 May. The name of this festival was Beltane. It was the
opposite of Samhain, the festival celebrating the beginning of
winter. On the night of Beltane the Celts made big bonfires.
A this time ofthe year the Romans had a festivity called
Floralia in honour of Flora, the goddess of flowers and Spring.
When they invaded Britain they brought this festivity with
them.
During the Middle Ages May Day was one of the most
important days in the year. Everybody got up early and went
`maying´: they went into the country to collect flowers and
branches of trees to decorate their homes. Then there were
games and singing and dancing. The most important dance was
around the Maypole. People chose a girl from the village to be
the ´Queen of the May´.
In Great Britain May Day is a public holiday. But it is not
always on the first of May: ot is on the first Monday in May. It
is much less important than in the Middle Ages, but there are
still some traditions. In traditional Maypole dances children

2. dance aroun the Maypole. The Maypole, the ancient symbol of
life, has many colour ribbons on it. The ribbons represent the
rays of the sun.
You can also see Morris dancing on May Day. This kind of
dancing probaly came from Spain in tha fifteenth century, but
it is very British tradition now. Morris dancers dance with
handkerchiefs and bells. They move their feet a lot to make
the bells ring. This was to wake up thee earth after winter.